Page 40 of Conquered

Chapter 17

Somewhere in the heart of the ‘hood, a young boy of 14-years powered up his Mac. It was an expensive gift from the man who was running for senator. The man talked about his dreams for the youth of America. They even had their picture taken together. It came out in the newspaper.

Elijah Jackson was one of the many boys from the Bronx who loved basketball and played the trumpet like a pro. But Elijah was a difficult child prone to temper tantrums. He consistently performed badly in school to his mom’s disappointment. She was a waitress and lived in a rundown apartment with Elijah. Both mother and son were in constant battle over the idea of going to school.

A guidance counselor suggested that Elijah should be tested to understand his dislike for school. Maybe he had to be brought down to a lower level because he couldn’t cope. They were all staggered by the results. Elijah had an IQ of 140. He was bored with school because it didn’t give him the challenge his brain needed.

Hunter heard about Elijah’s story when he came to visit. He sought out Elijah’s mom and promised to send the boy to a school that catered to children with special abilities.

Elijah and his mom were one of the thousands who stayed glued to the television as Noelle and Hunter's story unfolded in their living room.

“Such a waste,” mom murmured. “He would have made a great senator.”

“Yeah,” Elijah agreed.

In his room with the Mac screen glowing in the dark, Elijah began to work. His fingers flew deftly over the keys. Satisfied at what he had done, he uploaded it to facebook and tagged a few of his friends. His friends read the message and moved by Elijah’s story shared it with their friends. Their friends read it and passed it on to brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, nephews and nieces too.

Elijah created a Petition to convince Hunter Blackwell to continue his run for the Senate seat.

In less than an hour, the petition had been liked and shared and had over a hundred thousand signatures. In 24 hours it had gone viral. It was like a forest fire that refused to die down, triggering an avalanche of viral sharing never before seen in the digital world.

After 48 hours, Elijah knew he had something. He asked his mom for bus fare and headed straight to the 60-storey structure of steel and glass with an iconic courtyard. He asked directions to Mr. Blackwell’s office and was told where to go.

He was met by a fierce looking woman. When he told her what he had done, the woman gaped at him in surprise before squeezing the air out of his lungs in a giant bear hug.